lifeasmission

Sweet Jesus Love

January 16, 2007

When I was in college I had a professor who used to talk about “sweet Jesus love.” He never exactly described it, but we all knew what it was and what it wasn’t. Someone would tell a story about someone doing something unexpectedly sacrificial for someone else and he would say, “Yeah, that’s sweet Jesus love.” We would talk about being with certain people or in certain places and just feeling totally welcome, accepted, and valued. “That’s sweet Jesus love,” he would say. This professor himself treated people with and was known for “sweet Jesus love.”

I have told others that when I made the decision to attend Seminary I thought for sure I would find myself in a place which and surrounded by people who oozed sweet Jesus love. That’s not what I found. It’s not so much that I haven’t encountered people who love Jesus or who exhibit Christlike character, I have. But there is something so very innocent and warm about sweet Jesus love and Seminary hasn been anything but innocent and warm. I don’t think this is so much a reflection of Fuller but on the nature of theological education as we know it.

I just came back for a run and I was listening to different sorts of music. All of a sudden I fel this huge desire to listen to some worship music. Listeining to worship music isn’t all the en vogue at Seminary. So, I stopped for a moment and changed what I was listening to. It was like a breath of fresh air, like a rush of innocence and warmth. I am not in Seminary any more.  I am so very glad that I was and I will never be the same – in a very good way. But I am also excited to recover some of the sweet love which has been lacking in my life, hopefully on both the receiving and giving ends.

Yes, cheesy, but meaningful nonetheless.

Posted in: Jesus, fuller, love